State Strategies for Sustaining School-to-Work. School-to-Work Intermediary Project. Issue Brief

Venture capital provided under the School to Work Opportunities Act 1994 (STWOA) has promoted significant state and local innovation. STWOA's 7-year lifespan assumed that states made a commitment to building sustainable systems when they applied for funds. As STWOA approaches the end of its lifespan, many states are examining and assessing their own and other states' STW initiatives. The following state-level strategies for sustaining STW practice and priorities have emerged: (1) integration of STW with education reform; (2) career-centered curricula; (3) staff who promote and enhance work-based learning experiences; (4) shared governance among state agencies; (5) advocacy by high-level public officials; (6) a focus on employer engagement; and (7) organizing the constituency for state action. The following six broad categories of strategic decision points in formulating state strategies to sustain STW have been identified: (1) the state's level of commitment to sustaining activities previously supported by federal STW dollars; (2) ways the state defines STW goals and principles; (3) the resources being provided by the state to support STW implementation and sustainability; (4) state policy levers advancing activities started under the federal grant; (5) the parties administering the state's STW effort; and (6) the activities that the state is trying to sustain. (MN)